Composer selected for Convocation music commission

By Bojan Fürst

Memorial University has a new piece of music to commemorate its
100th convocation ceremony.

The call to Canadian composers went out in December asking for
an original suite of ceremonial music for the special event. The
responses poured in from across the country. The proposal that
ultimately impressed the selection committee came from an old
friend of Memorial.

“We were delighted with the enthusiastic response we got
from composers, and are very pleased that Dr. Michael Parker has
been selected as our convocation music composer celebrating our
100th regular convocation,” said Dr. Tom Gordon, director of
Memorial’s School of Music.

Ki Adams, Don Buell and Clifford Crawley were the members of the
selection committee that reviewed the 12 proposals the university
received. In their recommendation, the committee noted that the
musical qualities of the proposals were impressive and the final
selection was difficult. In selecting Dr. Parker, they wrote,
“We feel sure he has the ability, imagination, and experience
to carry out this commission in an appropriate and exciting
manner.”

Dr. Parker had a long and distinguished career as a professor of
classics at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College campus and as a composer
whose music has been commissioned, recorded and performed across
Canada.

Dr. Parker, who currently resides in Sackville, N.S., was
thrilled with the news that his proposal has been selected among
all the entries.

“I am really, really pleased,” he said. “I
have been at Grenfell for 30 years in education and it is very
exciting to compose music for what is the climax of a
student’s journey. This is a wonderful opportunity to combine
my interest in classics and music.”

Dr. Parker acknowledged that the pieces are quite challenging
because they require several arrangements and they need to be
variable in length. He is planning to base the pieces on a
Newfoundland tune. Most of his time is currently spent in the
library researching music that will serve as the basis of his
original work. “It is going to be unique to Memorial. I have
four months, but it is tricky and I have to get down to
work,” he explained excitedly.

Dr. Gordon sees the commission as a lot more than just a piece
of ceremonial music.

“I think Canadian universities could do a lot more in
terms of encouraging creation of new works of art. A commission
like this is a way of validating our own composers and creating
something that is useful and commemorative at the same time. This
is a great opportunity to do that and I am very excited about
it,” he said.

Dr. Parker’s music will be performed for the first time at
the 100th regular convocation this May.